


Star Wars: Isfet Order

by LuckyGhost20



Series: Isfet Trilogy [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Dark, Darksaber, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Maul is a jerk sometimes, Maul needs a hug, Nightmares, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pretty much every time, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-05-10 05:24:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14730773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyGhost20/pseuds/LuckyGhost20
Summary: Former Sith Darth Maul joins the rebellion after the events in Unexpected Rebellion. He, Ahsoka and his new apprentice must face the growing power of the Empire. Maul finds out he's not alone and has friends that won't betray him. New friends will join them and a new order will be founded.LINK TO THE PREQUEL HERE! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11200040/1/





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! First of all... this is a fanfiction inspired by another fanfiction. Link in the summary. 
> 
> I want to point out that English is not my native language and I'm Italian, so if you find some mistakes please say it to me and I'll correct them. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy my story.
> 
> May the Force be with you and have a good day! 
> 
> LUCKY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I started the series. This was not a chapter but only a reference to the prequel series.  
> Unexpected Rebellion is the pilot episode of the series.

Unexpected Rebellion. Previously.

 

"Kanan, we will take care of the refueling. I need you to get some supplies, mostly the food." Hera.

"What about Sabine? She could go with me." Kanan.

"Just look around, Kanan. This is not a good place for her. I have a bad feeling about all the strangers. She will stay on board." Hera.

"Ok. I will get everything as soon as possible. Will you be fine by yourself here?" Kanan.

"Sure. Just be quick." Hera.

~xXx~

"How can I help you?" Kanan.

"I'm glad you asked." Stranger replied. "I noticed your ship in the docks."

"You have been following me since I left the ship?" Kanan.

"Yes. I am looking for a crew that would take me off this planet to any Outer Rim system in the Territories. Money's not a problem. Name your price." Stranger.

"Hello, there! Wanna join us for a drink?"

"Leave me." Sabine.

"You should leave the lady alone." Stranger.

"Thank you." Sabine.

~xXx~

"Hera, this is..." Kanan.

"Reddie. I am Reddie."Stranger.

"Where do you want to go?" Hera.

"Anywhere in the Outer Rim system. I do not have a preference right now." Stranger.

"We are going to Lothal." Hera.

"If you need another ride somewhere, you can call us. Do you want a contact at us?" Hera.

"I would like to." Reddie.

~xXx~

"Kanan's been captured." Hera.

"We need someone. One more person who can go with the kid." Zeb.

"Who is Reddie?" Ezra.

"Do you...? Do you remember Kanan?" Sabine.

"The Jedi? Of course." Stranger.

"The Empire captured him." Sabine.

"I'll help you." Stranger.

~xXx~

"You met the Inquisitor? How did you escape?" Kanan.

"I killed him." Reddie.

~xXx~

"Do you know what a darksaber is?" Ezra.

"It used to be a Jedi weapon, but some warrior clan stole it. Why do you ask?" Kanan.

"Reddie has it. He killed the Inquisitor with it."

"Who is he?" Ezra.

"We don't know." Kanan.

"Who else other than Jedis can use the Force?"

"Siths. And some other creatures. Why?"

"Reddie used the Force to push away all the stormtroopers in the docks. And he told me he wasn't a Jedi." Ezra.

"What?!" Kanan.

~xXx~

"Kanan, Reddie could help us a great deal." Hera. 

"He's dangerous." Kanan.

~xXx~

"Someone should have mentioned me at your Temple. I am Darth Maul and I am Sith Lord. Well, a former one I guess."

~xXx~

"There are more Jedis?" Ezra.

"Yes. Why, did you think Kanan was the only one who survived Order 66?" Maul.

"He never mentioned anyone." Ezra.

Why did you never tell your padawan about other Jedis?" Maul.

"What do you mean? Other Jedis?" Kanan.

"Wait a moment... You don't know?" Maul.

"You know who survived?!" Kanan was shocked.

"Yes, I've read the reports." Maul.

"Who?" Kanan.

"Yoda, Kenobi, maybe Skywalker." Maul.

"We wanted to offer you to stay with us." Hera.

"Sounds great." Maul.

"Welcome aboard." Sabine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this story. If you want to read something in particular some chapters you will have to choose the topic or the dynamics and the main characters.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this series.
> 
> May the force be with you.
> 
> LUCKY


	2. Episode 1: Specter 7

Darth Maul, formerly a Sith, had joined the Ghost's crew. He didn't know if it had been a good or a bad idea, the Empire had discovered him and isolated him from everything. Communications, files, projects, plans, everything. If he had not accepted Sabine's proposal and had not saved the Jedi, by now, he would still be an anonymous bounty hunter, with zero problems with the Empire. Now, however, the Emperor put a big, big bounty on his head. If Maul had not been himself, he would have run to catch himself for all that money. It was certainly not a consoling thought. On the contrary, Reddie was screwed.

He had only joined the crew for five minutes, and the problems were already starting. Imperial assailants, TIE fighters, troops of all kinds roamed for Lothal in search of the Zabrak. No one could enter or leave the planet without the consent of the Empire and the rebels' ship, especially this ship, was rather well known.

Maul walked with Sabine to the bridge, the girl didn't seem in the least bit worried or intimidated by his appearance. The horns on the head, the red skin with black tattoos. No. The multicolored-haired girl seemed completely comfortable near him. Well, she did not seem bothered even when, initially, Reddie constantly wore his hood not to be recognized.

They entered the command bridge. Hera took the  pilot's seat. Maul had to admit that having seen her a few times, he could already say that she was a very skilled pilot. She knew what she was doing and this was something the Zabrak liked very much. If there was one thing he could not stand at all, were incapable people.

The Master Jedi and his Padawan also entered and sat down. Kanan next to the pilot and Ezra behind him. Having seen the boy using the basic knowledge to manipulate the Force, and even if it took him too long to locate his Master, he had done a good job.

Sabine crouched on the seat behind Hera and placed a lock of hair behind her ear before speaking.

"So, you're a Sith?" The girl asked, giving him a curious little glance.

"I was, but not anymore." Maul answered. He did not really want to touch that topic, not with her, with all of them.

"Stand still, bin!" Meanwhile the Lasat, Zeb, and the droid that the crew had tried to hide from Maul's sight, had entered the room, and Maul could now understand why. The Lasat had a can wedged in the ear and two more in one hand. With the other he kept the droid still and was preparing to kill it out of cans on the head. The droid instead emitted sounds that Maul couldn't translate in any way.

As soon as they realized they had company, the two fighters stopped, moving away from each other. Zeb made a slight growl, dropping the cans on the floor and trying desperately to get the jammed thing off his ear. Instead, the droid went near Sabine, emitting other sounds that vaguely resembled a small chuckle. Strange for a droid...

"Darth Maul, I have heard of you, the story of Mandalore depicts you as a great leader." The girl continued, and from this Maul understood that she was a Mandalorian. "You are the Zabrak who managed to bring peace to my world or at least set the stage for peace, then you disappeared... out of nowhere." Everyone thought you were dead."

Everyone now stood to attention, listening curiously.

"I didn't think I became famous." Joked the Zabrak, trying to distract them from the delicate subject that was his past.

"You did a lot for your people, but there was someone else with you, another Zabrak..." She began to remember him from the few information she had read about him.

Maul knew it. The fateful question was about to arrive. He couldn't bear such a great emotion and he hoped with all of his might, that they would change topic.

Before Sabine could remember the name of the Zabrak, Hera interrupted them. Perhaps Maul's prayers had been answered. "The Empire is sending a message, it's on all channels!" She said in panic.

The Twi'lek switched on the transmitter and a voice began speaking. The hologram was the symbol of the Empire. "People of Lothal, it is the special agent Kallus who speaks to you. Recently an enemy of the empire has been identified." The image of Maul appeared and everyone could see it.

Maul felt his hearts stop for a moment. By now they had discovered him, and they wanted to capture him at all costs.

"This Zabrak is a criminal who was thought dead, but recent events have shown that he is still alive and active on Lothal, whoever manages to capture him will be rewarded with a total sum of fifty thousand credits" The image shifted back to normal and Kallus' voice continued to speak. "Citizens of Lothal, help us  capture this criminal for your own good and the good of the Empire."

Without saying anything else, the communication was interrupted and everyone remained staring at the gap for who knows how much time. Now everything would have been much more difficult. Maul wondered if they would now deliver him to Kallus. The Zabrak knew that the crew needed money, he was starting to doubt them. All of them.

Kanan, sensing his anxiet, approached him and told him. "Now you're part of the crew, you don't have to worry, we will not betray you." The Jedi said. He had also remembered that during their first meeting Maul had told him he did not trust them and thought they would send him to the Empire in exchange for money. "I do not know what happened to you that made you so pessimistic, but trust us." Kanan concluded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Maul looked at his face, seeing his steady gaze. The Jedi was not lying. Turning to the other members of the Phantom, he could see and distinguish similar looks. Nobody wanted to betray him. He couldn't understand their reason. They had no reason to protect him.

Maul was convinced that after he had finished his usefulness, these rebels would sell him. As Sidious had done in the past abandoning him. Perhaps that had been an isolated case. Sidious was different from them.

Sabine stood up and approached Maul, smiling at him. "Now you are officially famous." She said jokingly.

Everyone laughed remembering events that were now only the past. They had to think about present.

"So, what do we do now?" Asked Ezra. The boy was right. They couldn't stay there long.

"I know of some rebel bases on Yavin IV, we have to try to get over the naval block, then we'll be safe on that planet." Hera said.  
Easier said than done...

~xXx~

Almost a week had passed since Maul's coverage had failed. But they were doing quite well, the Zabrak had managed to effectively camouflage himself in public so they would not recognize him. Merit of his hood and decades of undercover work for Sidious when he was still his apprentice.

Maul heard what they had promised. Kanan had approached him and, with a hand on his shoulder, reassured him that they would protect him because he was now part of the crew. But Maul was still skeptical, he didn't know who to trust.

His Master had taught him that the Jedi were evil. And, although Plagueis had helped him after the abandonment and the wound, the mentality that Sidious had imposed on him still continued to play with his convictions. This was not good at all.

Anyways, the Imperials had calmed down a little. After about 7 days, almost 8, of total absence of rebel activity, and above all of a certain Zabrak, now they were literally turning their thumbs.

Maul, Kanan, and Sabine were hidden in the shadow of a lane that overlooked the main street of Lothal. Lately they used underground tunnels, which the boy knew, to go back and forth from the city and return with the necessary supplies and food.

Now they had cross exactly the square to go to a cantina where they had an appointment with a friend of Sabine, they were searching a technology that masked the signal of the ship and passed it for an Imperial ship.

Kanan turned as he popped up from the street corner to check the situation. "The area is not as guarded as we expected, we can do it." He said encouragingly.

Sabine rolled her eyes and moved closer to the human to check herself. "He's right, and if we move quickly but easily, they will not notice us."

Maul made a grimace of disapproval from under the hood, but it went unnoticed by his companions. "Do you know how to exercise a mental trick?" He asked the former Jedi.

Kanan looked at him almost offended. "Of course I can do it." Maul was not entirely convinced, but he let it go. "But first let's do it the old way. What do you think?"

Maul eyed him from under the hood. "All right, but if everything goes wrong..."

"You can tell me 'I told you so' if everything goes wrong, but later." Kanan answered, his voice stern.

The three of them walked slowly and casually through the square. Trying, as much as possible, not to get attention and after a few minutes they had crossed the whole square to the cantina where they entered.

The cantina was a mix of colored lights. The smell of alcohol invaded the nostrils of the three rebels, who ignored it and started following Sabine. His friend was a Bothan. Sabine had often talked about him to the crew and they had already met him a couple of times. For Maul it was the first time though.

The Bothan's name was Yard Mendir and he had already helped them in the past. From how they talked about him before this mission, they seemed to trust him. The Bothan had many contacts with the rebels and provided them with technologies or permissions that they could not otherwise get.

"Hi guys." The Bothan screamed. He alone emanated a scent of alcohol that expanded a few meters around him. The eyes of the hairy alien were gray and half-closed, but if he could still keep himself upright, then he probably was not totally gone.

"What can I do for you? Come and have a drink with me!" He said raising his arm and gesturing towards the waiter who, for just a moment, looked at him strangely. Eventually he realized he had to bring more beer to the Bothan's friends and walked away to the counter for the order.

"We're not here to have a good time." Kanan said dryly, banging his hand on the table, trying to make the alien focus on him. "We need a shielding device." He said in a flat tone.

"Ah yes, I can get it, of course, but what do I gain?" The Bothan said, lolling back and forth on the chair, his hairy mustache followed in slow-motion movements.

"We've got credits." Maul immediately intervened. Not knowing Yard and his prices. Yard looked at him from below, towards the other with an offended look.

"And who are you?" After a few seconds he asked, Yard to drained all the glass of beer.

Meanwhile the waiter Twi'lek had returned with three more glasses and placed them on the table without saying a word so as not to interrupt the conversation. Turning back, he left as he had arrived.

"He is Reddie, he's my... cousin." Sabine immediately said without thinking. Maul looked at her from under the hood and began to sweat cold.

"Uh uh ... interesting." Yard continued. Meanwhile some Imperial guards had entered the bar. There was no more time and Maul lost his patience.

The Zabrak raised his hand up to the height of the Bothan's face and moving it in front of him, he said the words well. "You will give us the masking device, now." He said in a tone that made Kanan's blood freeze. The Jedi didn't approve of what the Zabrak had done, but he had to admit that there was no more time left.

"I will give you the masking device, now." Repeated Yard in a confused, sleepy tone. He got up from the table, leaving more credits than necessary and walked towards the cantina's exit. Wobbly legs that barely supported him in his state.

"Can you do it?" Sabine whispered to the Jedi who snorted and looked up at the sky annoyed. Sabine giggled and approached "her cousin" to nudge him on the side. She was too low to get to the ribs unfortunately.

"You are good, you know?" She told Reddie as they followed the Bothan some distance away so as to not arouse suspicion. Yard was leading them to a dark, narrow street with glimmers of opaque light coming from the windows of the houses.

"Thank you." He simply answered him without going into details. The tone did not admit other replies. He knew that she wanted to know more about him, but it was painful for Maul to talk about his past.

Sabine realized that her friend was in a bad mood and said nothing, simply appreciating the silence and they continued to walk side by side.

The Bothan turned the corner and took some keys from his pocket, opening the door, entering what was presumably his home and closing the door behind him. Sabine started to open the door but Kanan put a hand on her shoulder and the girl stopped on the spot looking upwards, meeting the eyes of the human.

"He will come back." He simply said. And in fact, after a few more seconds, the door opened again and the Bothan came out with his eyes almost completely closed and holding the masking device.

Maul took it and slipped it into the shoulder bag he always carried with him. Yard began to stagger on the spot and then fell forward. If Kanan had not taken him, the alien would have found himself on the ground with a broken nose, at least.

Meanwhile, a patrol turned the corner and glimpsed the unconscious Bothan held up by Kanan. "Hey, you!" One of the soldiers said.

"Damn! Help me!" Kanan said to Maul. The Zabrak took Yard's feet and the two began to transport him home. Sabine, however, remained out trying not to seem worried at all and that everything was normal and under control.

The Imperials approached, the opaque lights coming from the windows of the surrounding houses, lightly shining the helmets of the three soldiers.

"Miss." He called the Mandaloriana leaning against the wall of the building, trying to stay as much as possible in the darkness to prevent the soldiers from noticing her uniform decorated with symbols of the rebellion. "It's all under control." She continued when Maul and Kanan finished arranging the Bothan on the bed.

"Yard is a friend of ours who had called us ten minutes ago to take him home... he does not hold alcohol well." She said making them look in from the entrance door.

"I can smell it even from under my helmet." One of the soldiers said in a nauseated tone. The other two nodded, patting Maul's shoulders, who adjusted his hood better and Kanan smiled at the soldier trying to look tired but satisfied with his work.

The Imperials left without seeming to suspect anything and turned the corner again without looking back to check.

The three rebels breathed a sigh of relief that they didn't realize they were holding. They'd been lucky this time, otherwise it would have been trouble if the soldiers had checked in the Zabrak's backpack.

The fact is that they had got away and walked towards the center of the city. They passed the square and returned to the tunnel from which they had emerged a few hours ago. They entered, without being noticed by anyone in the darkness of the night and set off towards freedom.

~xXx~

In the end it had been simple. They had obtained the masking device. Now they could leave Lothal once and for all.

The crew had also learned, in all this, that Maul was also a great mechanic. With the assistance of Chopper, he had successfully installed the device in just under thirty minutes and now the Phantom was ready to go.

"I didn't know you could even do these things, and very well." Said Hera, she sat in the driver's seat as usual and was lighting up the ship's engines and checking all the systems a bit.

Maul sat down next to her and took the hood off his head, revealing it, for the second time that day, his red face with black tattoos crowned with horns. "There are many things about me that you do not know yet."

"Oh really?" Hera asked with a smile on her lips. She turned to Maul and asked. "And when will you show us your other cards up your sleeve?"

"All in due time, I don't want to ruin the surprise." He said looking ahead and enjoying for the last time the night landscape of Lothal. The tops of the hills were lit by a soft and opaque moonlight. In the tall grass, among the plants, one could see the Loth cats running and playing.

Seeing them, Hera remembered a small thing that had happened during the absence of Specter 1 and Specter 7. "Before leaving..." She said jumping up and reaching for the Zabrak. "I want to show you something."

"Hm?" Maul didn't know what it was, but he still took Hera's hand in his and got up, following her into the corridor to the entrance of his quarters.

"We found it on your bed while you were off ship." She said opening the door and entering inside. Maul followed her again and found it difficult to understand what she was talking about, then he saw it. A shiny white-eyed Loth cat was curled up on his bed and looked at the two newcomers with a curious look. "He likes your smell." Hera said, observing the animal.

"How do you know, and why is he still on board, on my bed?" Zabrak inquired.

"You know, a Loth cat could be useful to us, if he still wants to stay here." Hera said, alternately observing the cat first and then again Reddie.

"Useful to us? How could it help us?" Reddie said. Soon after, he didn't even have time to finish the sentence that the Loth cat jumped on him and climbed up on his shirt, with his claws, to rest his head on Maul's shoulder. He raised a hand and placed it on the back of the animal who lifted his tail wrapping it gently around Maul's wrist. With his other hand he gave caresses behind its ear and the cat answered with satisfied purrs and happy meows.

"I don't mean for missions, just as a pet, and I'm pretty sure he already knows who his master is." Hera said, looking at the scene, amused.

Maul understood her words and sat down on the bed. The cat immediately got out and settled comfortably on Maul's legs, closing his eyes but continuing to purr. Maul continued to caress him gently on the head.

"Don't you think he needs a name?" Hera asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah." He said, watching the cat curled up on his legs. It had never happened to him, to have to name something. Except when he enjoyed building droids, but the name he gave them was related to their specific characteristics. This time he simply had to give a name to an animal. He thought about it for a few minutes and then said.

"Moon."

He had remembered the Moonstone. A white stone with wonderful opalescences. It is also said that this stone helps to have lucid dreams, gives intuition and promotes good memory.

"It's a beautiful name." Hera had to take off the ship, then got up, giving the feline a quick caress and left the room. Shortly after that, the crew could hear her voice through the ship's transmitter. "Okay guys, it's time to go, get in. Next destination: Yavin 4." And the ship took off,  undisturbed by naval block. Hera opened a window in the hyper space and left Lothal for good.

~xXx~

When they arrived on Yavin 4, the crew got off the ship and headed for the base. Other people came to meet them, including Senator Mon Mothma and Bail Organa.

"Welcome." She greeted them. Then she turned to the new crew member and reached out a hand. "You must be Maul." She asked.

Maul greeted the senator, shaking her hand and answering. "Exactly."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, you'll be fine with us, now you're officially part of the rebellion." She said, smiling at him. In that moment, Maul wanted to ignore all the strange looks he received from the  people and simply followed his friends into the base.

Could he call them friends? He still did not know, but he liked thinking that they were. In the future he would see with certainty whether or not he could consider them as such, but now it was fine.

He followed the senators without looking back. From that moment on Maul had become a rebel.


	3. Episode 2: Ivisiron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second episode of the season. Hope you like it. It is a little longer and darker than the first one. I want to thank EMA02rosso for allowing me to use his character Carnage.
> 
> As usual, let me know what you think in the comments of the chapter.
> 
> Enjoy the story.
> 
> May the force be with you.
> 
> LUCKY

It was early. Very early. The sun hadn't risen on Yavin 4yet, but the rebels were already all awake. The roar of the engines of the spaceships invaded the air, the droids roamed back and forth hurrying to complete their respective tasks as quickly as possible, so as to guarantee the rebels another day of survival against the fight with the Empire. 

Everyone was awake, except perhaps for... a Zabrak who had recently become part of the rebellion. Maul lay on his most comfortable bed, in the quarters he had been assigned on board the Ghost. 

The previous day, the crew had faced a mission that to define tiring is an understatement. Supplies were a fundamental element for the survival of the rebels. The crew had been sent to Lothal, much to Maul's displeasure, to grab as many supplies as they could. In the chaos of the situation, Ezra had managed to blow up a walker and had almost killed Kanan and the aforementioned Zabrak who had been thrown into one of the adjacent buildings due to the force of the explosion, earning a great headache and, in Maul's case, a half-broken horn. 

Kanan was practically unconscious soon after the impact and Zeb had to carry him for the rest of their journey to the ship. Maul had been stunned for the rest of the mission, with his vision blurred. At that point he had totally relied on the Force to shoot at the soldiers, still doing a great job. It was fine, however, but Maul and Kanan had collapsed in their beds immediately after reporting. Maul had refused any kind of medical treatment from the few medical clones on the site. 

"I'm gonna blow up this door and tie you to the bed if you don't let me in right now!" Sabine had screamed, beating his fists against Maul's door. His headache had intensified even more, at which point Maul had opened it, letting her enter. 

At the end he wore a ridiculous multicoloured gauze on the head wrapped around one of the horns. The-so-dead-when-he'll-wake-up Mandalorian had then given him a tranquilizer and Maul had collapsed after a few minutes.

And now he was laboriously trying to keep his eyes open despite their heaviness. He wanted to move, but his whole body didn't obey the commands of the brain and so he lay there in the darkness, praying that no one would find him in bed while everyone else was already at work. 

BANG! BANG! BANG! 

Someone was annoyingly and incessantly knocking on his door. Maul sat upright on the bed with the two twin hearts that seemed to want to come out of his chest as to how they were beating fast. 

"Hey Maul!" Rex's voice rang out the door. Maul had learned to admire the old clone. He was brave and had fought a war by surviving brilliantly. Plus he was a great sniper and he knew how to get on the field. 

"You have to get up! I know you got a big bang on the head yesterday, but we need you." The clone still said in a calmer voice. But Maul massaged his aching head as he tried to get out of bed and go open the door. Moon was curled up on Maul's empty bed and had no intention of getting up. But he had opened his eyes and looked at his owner with a curious look. The white, fluffy tail moved back and forth as if it had a will of its own. 

Only a few seconds before opening he realized he was half naked. He only had underwear on. He reached for his desk and black trousers flew in his hand. He put them on and opened the door. 

"What's up?" Sleepy asked, putting a hand in front of his eyes. At that point the sun had already risen and the eyes of the Zabrak had difficulty getting used to the light that lit up the ship. 

Rex was leaning against the doorframe with a rifle in his hand, the helmet arm in arm. He had a black shirt on and the usual ruined sweatpants. Sabine had also stained them with paint somehow. But it was not one of the usual designs. It was a scrawl... maybe Rex had managed to stop her in time for once. 

"You have to come to the control room, we received an encrypted transmission that we can't  decrypt." He said, putting a hand behind his head. Maul looked at him puzzled. With all the technicians in the base, was it possible that none of them could decrypt a transmission? 

"Seriously?" Asked Maul annoyed. "Don't you think Chopper is perfectly cap-mpf..." Maul didn't get the chance of finishing his thought that Rex's hand flew up to his lips and silenced him. The clone's eyes were terrified and wide open. Then they heard her. A sharp and penetrating voice. 

"Honeyyyy, where are you, dear?" The voice screamed. Both men turned in the direction of the voice. Rex moved closer to the door. The hand on the Zabrak's lips was began to tremble. 

"It's her!" Stammered the clone in a whisper, he was getting closer and closer to the room. Maul raised a hand and put it on Rex's wrist, looking at him grimly but confused at the same time. 

Rex, wasting no more time, pushed the Zabrak into the dark room, closing the door with a snap and barricading himself inside. Maul fell with a thud on the bed where Moon was huddled. The cat jumped a few inches from the fright, landing on the Zabrak's chest and meowing annoyed. 

"Who?" Raged exasperated the Zabrak. Moon was punishing him for scaring him by planting his sharp claws against his skin. "Moon..." Groaned the Zabrak under his breath, taking the animal and putting it next to him. "I didn't do it on purpose." The cat growled in annoyance and turned, going to rest on Maul's pillow, not giving him another look. 

The Zabrak sighed, massaging his aching skin. He looked up and saw Rex peering through the door lock. "Um...?" 

"Shh!!!" Rex was acting in a strange way. Usually he didn't lose his cool. He was a soldier and he had seen hell, so what scared him so much? 

"Dearieee, we'll be late for the date." Rex put himself upright and proceeded to move every single object he could find in front of the door to barricade himself inside. 

Maul, exasperated, took his wrists, stopping him. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Maul's eyes were bright in the darkness. Rex sincerely preferred the tortures of the cat lady rather than the wrath of a pissed off Sith. 

"Do you remember when we went to the prison on Ryloth to free the prisoners?" Rex mumbled. Maul nodded, taking Moon in his arms. The cat climbed on the shirt that the Zabrak had just worn and put himself on the back of the red resting his head on his left shoulder. The tail protruded from the other side of the neck and hugged him protectively. 

"Well... among those bastards there was also that half-cat that is ruining my life!" Now Maul remembered. That voice belonged to Xyrusa Na, an annoying Cathar who had a weakness for the clone commander. Maybe saving that cat woman was the death sentence of that poor man. 

Apparently, Rex had raised his voice a little too much, because the next thing Maul knows is a big flash of light and Rex's terrified voice. Xyrusa had mysteriously managed to open the door and dragged the man with her. Rex gave him a desperate look. 

With a snap of the wrist, Maul Force-pushed the cat woman into a stumble, which left the grip she had on Rex and this gave him the opportunity to run away. 

"Thanks." Rex whispered as he passed him by, running toward the central gathering. Of course... Maul could have even dropped a ship on the Cathar's head, with oh-so-much blessing from Rex, but the Zabrak wasn't so sure it would have been a good idea. Meanwhile Xyrusa had risen from the ground and mumbled annoyed, growling towards Maul and left. 

Maul nodded back to Rex and continued on his way. Once in the control room he found Ezra, Sabine and Zeb together with Senators Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. 

"Maul" Sabine exclaimed coming to meet him, Moon gasped in sudden fright and planted his claws on the shoulder of the Zabrak, he sent a feeling of tranquility through the Force and the cat calmed down, licking his neck apologizing. Maul turned his head to the cat, who brought his nose up, rubbing it gently against the chin of his master, who smiled satisfied. 

"It's nice to see you up. Kanan is still groggy. " She said looking at him happily from the ground.

"Yes, I heard, I also heard you're having trouble with an encrypted transmission." Maul continued going immediately to the point. The senators, Ezra, Sabine and Zeb nodded in unison. 

"Let me see." 

Senator Organa motioned to one of the technicians present, who opened the file through the FileWall. 

Maul approached the computer, frowning and scratching his chin. Moon had meanwhile fallen from Maul's shoulder and landed on Ezra's head, who took the cat in his arms and began petting it. 

Maul sat down in front of the computer and opened the file. On the screen there were only horizontal and vertical lines that in the black background looked like a chessboard. Occasionally the lines were interrupted by dark shadows that passed on the screen. 

The Zabrak looked confused at the screen, not recognizing anything familiar. Zeb came up behind Maul and asked in confusion. "What's it say?" 

"Nothing." Maul answered looking at the screen. "It just looks like a random bunch of..." The Zabrak stopped. Eyes ran from one side of the screen to the other. Ezra could almost see the wheels of his brain spinning madly. 

Maul snapped his fingers, turning away from the screen for a moment. "Wait a second..." 

The red began to press buttons on the keyboard. 

"What is it?" Ezra asked. 

"It's encrypted." He answered, his fingers almost touching the keys of the keyboard so much that he wrote quickly. "With the same kind of algorithm used on the Star Destroyers." 

Ezra looked around. The others also had a perplexed look but they didn't interrupt him. A few seconds later the screen was no longer black. A small beep sounded in the silent hall, then a hologram appeared in the center of the room. A fuzzy figure with two protuberances on either side of the face began to speak. 

"Please - help me - I'm on a Star Dest - orbit - Lothal -" The file was not very clear but the others kept listening. 

"What's going on?" Mon churches looking at the hologram. 

Maul still continued to press keys. "I don't know... maybe... the file is corrupt or incomplete somehow." Maul carefully watched the hologram. 

"- Empire has developed a new cloak - device - Ivisiron - rebel ships - no chance - help me." The file ended with another fast beep from the oloprojector. On the screen in front of Maul appeared a red writing that read "ERROR" Ezra and Sabine looked at each other in confusion. But one thing was very clear. It was a request for help. 

Hera had arrived unnoticed in the room just before the activation of the file. "What on Earthdoes that mean?" Bail asked meeting the worried look of the Zabrak. 

Maul looked up, thinking. 

Ivisiron... 

~xXx~

"What do you mean you didn't understand?" Insisted Kana, raising his still aching head from the comfy pillow. Maul had called him on his comlink talking about a request for help. 

"The file is corrupted." Maul's voice rang like a bell in Kanan's room. "We were only able to catch a few words here and there." 

"Look, from what we can tell, it was clear he was asking for our help." Rex's voice interrupted Maul's deep one. Kanan wanted to help him, but in recent years it had become difficult to distinguish a real request for help from an ambush. 

"Something to do with a new technology involved, he called it Ivisiron and apparently it could be lethal for rebel ships." The voice of his padawan explained. Kanan got up, giving himself a quick wash and wearing something decent. 

"For me he double crossed us." Zeb retorted from the other end of the line. 

"Any chance you can clean up that video? Piece together more of what it says." Hera asked hopefully. She wanted to know more before sending a team... 

From the comlink Kanan could feel the fingers of Maul darting on the keyboard but without results "No, too much data missing, that is as good as we're gonna get." The Zabrak finally answered gesturing towards the screen. 

"All right." Bail mumbled, sighing. "Kanan." Bail called him. Kanan snapped up and walked towards the hall. But he already knew they would be going on a mission. 

~xXx~

Meanwhile, a very light-green Twi'lek ran through the corridors of the ship in orbit around Lothal. He was out of breath, but he had to get to the rescue shells. He couldn't stay there anymore. In a short time they would discover what he had done, and for him it would be the end. 

As he ran, his two lekku, full of cuts, dangled painfully, following the movements of his body. Everything hurt. They had tortured him to submission. He couldn't take anymore electric shock and the whips. He just wanted to go back to his family. To his beloved wife Aserjiha and his beloved daughter Abija. 

He still wanted to play and laugh with them. In a world where violence didn't exist. In a lie of existence that masks the horror that he was living for so many years aboard this infernal ship. 

Those thoughts, blurred but alive memories kept him sane. If he hadn't had those memories he would have gone mad. He didn't want to go crazy, he just wanted to go home. He had to go home. They had to be alive. The Zabrak had promised it to him. And even if he hadn't been there for 2 years of Abija's childhood, she couldn't just have forgotten him. His child, always smiling. He remembered that she always ran. Tirelessly. 

Now he was running too. But not with that carelessness. Just thinking about what the Zabrak would do to him made him shiver. 

"Ah... Sathego, you disappoint me." A deep voice sounded in the unusually empty corridors. They usually dripped with guards. When the Twi'lek heard it, he recognized it immediately. It was him. The Zabrak. 

He tried to run as fast as possible. Desperately trying to find the rescue shuttles. "I thought we came to an agreement, do not you remember?" Still that voice. Always closer. 

Then, without warning, his feet no longer touched the floor. His weak and aching body floated in the air. Sathego closed his eyes, trembling hands tried to hold on to something. Anything to escape the wrath of the Sith. 

It was all useless. His body was maneuvered like a marionette. A few seconds later he found himself kneeling on the ground. Then a hand warm touched his face making him wince. 

"Look at me." Said the deep voice, unusually calm and reassuring. Sathego opened his eyes. In front of him he saw two healthy legs covered with a semi-adherent dark-colored trousers. 

The hand stroked the Twi'lek's face, his cheek, resting on his head. Then a painful grip made Sathego scream. The hand forced his head to look up. Sathego couldn't move, he was paralyzed. His body trembled, helpless in front of the strong and robust Zabrak that he was now forced to watch. 

"That's it, good boy." The Zabrak continued caressing his cheek in a mechanical gesture. Sathego held back from wincing. He wanted at all costs to run and flee away from him. 

The Twi'lek's green eyes met the fiery red ones of the albino Zabrak. His white face covered with black tattoos expressed no emotion. But his eyes were soaked with anger and hatred. 

"Maybe it's time to make things clear." The Zabrak continued. Sathego knew what he meant. He stood still and silent, waiting for the blow. It never came. 

"Do you remember what I told you some time ago?" The Zabrak asked again, keeping Sathego's head still by a lekku, forcing him to stare into his eyes. 

"Y-yes, L-lord Carn-nage... I-I remember..." Sathego answered with a hoarse voice from the disuse. Carnage continued to caress his face wet with tears that had begun to flow from the Twi'lek's eyes. 

"N-Never d... decide on m-my own..." Sathego continued, keeping eye contact with Carnage, as he knew the Sith wanted. 

"Correct." He said. "And what did you just do instead?" Carnage purred. The question was rhetorical but Sathego knew he had to answer anyway. 

"D-decide on my own, S-sir." Sathego was tired. His heart was beating wildly, he couldn't diminish the trembling that invaded his thin body. 

"Yeah, and you know what that means." This was an affirmation. Sathego knew what he meant. Carnage continued for a few seconds to stroke his face. Then he suddenly grabbed him by the throat. Sathego's eyes widened, desperately trying to escape. Skeletal hands grasping the muscular arm of the Zabrak which now held him by the neck. The Twi'lek's feet did not touch the ground. 

His sight was becoming blurred. White spots were beginning to form at the sides of his sight. He heard Carnage speak, but he could not understand what he was saying. Then he found himself on the ground again. 

Strong hands grabbed him by the arms, dragging him through the corridors of the ship. They were Imperial guards. When did they arrive? Sathego hadn't heard them coming. They were so many. The Twi'lek began to whine even more. Loneliness and pain invaded his broken heart that wanted nothing more than to return to Aserjiha and Abija. 

He tried to think of them as he was led to his old cell. He tried not to think of the pain they would inflict on him for disobeying. But he had sent the message. Now he had only to hope for Murphy that they would arrive. They were his only hope. He closed his eyes exhausted and the world around him became dark. Only a few sounds could be heard. Then nothing more. 

~xXx ~

"How long till we arrive?" Ezra asked entering the deck of the ship. Hera was piloting, as usual, Kanan was sitting next to her. Maul, behind Hera, was stroking Moon, who had fallen asleep in his lap. 

"About ten minutes and we're there." Hera answered without taking hier eyes off the ship's controls. 

"So what, you're not coming with us, kid." Maul said in a annoyed tone. Ezra winced in horror. Since when didm't they take him with them? On an important mission. 

"What? Why?!" Ezra shouted turning towards Maul. Meanwhile, Moon had woken up and was looking around sleepily. 

"Because we must be precise and quick." Kanan answered instead of Maul. 

"You need me!" Ezra insisted, placing the palm of his hand against his own chest. "I'm precise and quick, nobody will notice our presence." Ezra continued, trying to convince the three of them. "And come on... You are taking Chopper with you? Chopper is a disaster! Come on!"

The droid, who had hidden among the computers, jumped out armed with his mechanical arm and gave a great shock to Ezra. 

"Ah! Chopper! What's gotten into you...?" Ezra had jumped in the air from the shock that invaded his body. Maul only stared at the boy unimpressed. Kanan spoke. 

"Chopper is a astrodroid who manages to infiltrate unnoticed in the ship's systems." Kanan retorted, rising from his chair and heading for the door. 

"Ezra, we need you on the Ghost." Hera said trying to cheer up the boy. "You will do a great job with the turrets." 

Ezra thought about it. It didn't even take a minute for the boy to find his smile again. He took Moon with him and left satisfied, heading for the great hall of the ship where everyone was gathering. 

"So." Hera's voice resonated in the ship through the communications, so that everyone could listen. "As soon as I'm hooked up, you'll only have a few seconds to get down and get on the Star Destroyer, then I'll have to flee and fight with the fighters." 

"Copy, Hera." Kanan said nodding toward Maul. 

Maul put on his hood and took his two blasters. He couldn't be recognized, especially on board a damn ship of the Empire. 

Maul, Kanan, Rex and Chopper came into action as soon as they heard the thud, meaning that the ship had docked. They ran quickly through the corridors, followed by Chopper, until they found a control panel. 

"Come on Chop. Do your magic." Kanan encouraged, the droid as usual mumbled to himself as he slid the mechanical arm into the slot and turned to enter. 

Maul and the others stood guard at the corners. They were practically in a bad place strategically speaking. A crossroad. And Maul could hear voices. Extending his senses with the Force he managed to perceive how many and where they were. 

"Do you hear it?" Whispered Kanan. Maul nodded. An obscure presence was approaching. Cold and malignant. A sense of loneliness and pain invaded Maul's heart. He knew that Kanan felt the same. 

Maul dropped the blasters and took his dark lightsaber. Kanan followed his example. 

"What's going on?" Rex asked aiming in the generic direction where Kanan and Maul were watching. 

"Trouble." Kanan was tense. He had a bad feeling about this. Rex knew from experience that if a Jedi was worried, then the end of the world was close. The clone squeezed his blaster, ready to hit. 

The Zabrak lowered his hood. Golden eyes watched the corridor from which the dark presence would appear. 

"What are you doing?!" Rex scolded him. 

"This ship is teeming with Imperials, they will recognize you." Kanan said grabbing his wrist, trying to stop Maul. 

Zabrak turned towards the Jedi. His gaze was defeated. Something very bad was about to happen. He kneit. Maul looked down for a moment, then spoke, his voice hoarse and full of pain. "It doesn't matter. He knows." 

"He knows? What do you mean?" Kanan could not understand who he was talking about. 

The presence was coming closer. Meanwhile Chopper was emitting ever more acute and impatient sounds. "The bin has- Ouch!" Rex had started talking but the droid had hit him with an electric shock, indignant at the nickname the clone had given him. "Chop has finished! We have to go!" He continued. 

"Now, where do you think you're going?" A deep voice startled them. The owner of that voice emerged from the corner of the corridor with two Imperial Soldiers. From the other corners of the crossroad other troops reached them. Soon they found themselves surrounded. 

"Maul." The Sith said, smiling maliciously towards the other Zabrak. Kanan had noticed that he had the same eyes as Maul. No... not the same. Those of Maul were golden. Instead the new Zabrak had hate-filled eyes, full of blood-red veins, the dark side. 

"Carnage..." Maul answered looking at him. The former Sith seemed pained. He held his darksaber tightly. 

"You two know each other?" Kanan could not believe it. But he should have thought of it. Between the Sith Order surely they had to know each other. 

"Oh... Look, a Jedi. You are friend with the Jedi now, Maul?" Carnage said without giving a single glance to Kanan or Rex who had approached Maul armed to the teeth. Kanan with his light blue sword and Rex with his ever present blaster. Chopper instead had tried to hide behind the beams. 

"It's none of your business, Carnage." Said Maul tight-lipped, trying to keep calm. 

"No, right, I'm not part of the-" Carnage didn't have time to finish his sentence that Maul attacked.

Carnage parried the blow by pushing the red away with the Force. "Kill them!" He commanded his soldiers, who began firing at the intruders. Kanan went out of his way to reflect the blaster blows as Rex hit the Imperials. 

Maul, meanwhile, was battling Carnage. The two were colliding in a fight full of passion. Carnage was fast, parried the shots of Maul who meanwhile did not want to find himself on the defensive. 

Maul managed to reflect two blaster shots of a soldier. He sent one of them back to the Imperial, taking him in the chest. He sent the other bullet, however, towards Carnage who instead dodged in order not to be hit.

The two continued to fight, then Maul was thrown against a wall by Carnage's Force Push. The Sith came up in a flash with the sword activated, ready to cut off the head of the Zabrak. Maul reached out and his darksaber flew back into his hand from where it had fallen, activating just in time. 

Carnage pushed against Maul's sword, which was in a slightly awkward situation. Pushed against a wall by a lightsaber ready to decapitate him. 

The red gave a jerk and freed himself. He hung his lightsaber against his belt and raised his arms. Carnage was approaching. Maul used the Force to eradicate the ceiling and heavy beams fell on the Sith burying him. 

Maul knew he was still alive, but he could do nothing more. He had to help Kanan, Rex and Chopper who still had a dozen soldiers to shoot down. Maul, with a Force jump, landed behind the group of soldiers and beheaded four with a single blow. The others were killed by Rex and Kanan. Even Chopper had managed to fry two of them. 

"Come on, Chopper has found the research room, there will be all the data about Ivisiron." Rex informed them, following Chopper who had meanwhile set off in one of the corridors. 

"You go." Maul said, going to the other side. 

"Where are you going? We have to stay together." Kanan protested following him. If they split, they had little chance of coming out of that ship alive. Kanan didn't want to lose anyone in this mission. 

"You don't understand!" Maul shouted, turning abruptly. "I have to go that way, the Force is telling me." Maul was convinced of it. He would find something if he followed the Force. He already had the whole journey in mind. 

Kanan sighed, rubbing his head. That battle had brought him back the headache. Probably he would collapse again at the end of the mission. "All right, but let's stay in touch, do not disappear like you usually do." The last time they had split was before the Zabrak joined the rebellion. But that time the former Sith had disappeared for weeks. 

Maul nodded, taking his sword in his hand and running toward the direction the Force indicated. The corridors of the ship became increasingly oppressive. Maul could feel... despair, loneliness, but at the same time love and hope. Someone... the Force was guiding him to someone. 

He didn't take long to get to the cell. It was closed, but the Zabrak simply hit the panel with a blaster blow and it swung open. 

Maul entered the room. It was dark. At times like this he wanted to own his old red sword, at least he could do a little light. After a few minutes, his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the cell and he saw someone. 

It was definitely a Twi'lek. The alien was handcuffed to a cot, his clothes were torn and his skin was ruined with old and new scars. The body, skeletal and weak covered with burns. Evidently they had tortured him with electroshock. 

The Twi'lek had his eyes open and stared at him in terror. He was trembling, but he didn't seem able to move. However he could not do it. Maul approached, spreading a feeling of calm in the direction of the Twi'lek. He didn't want to hurt him. 

"Hey..." Maul said in a low voice, sitting near the bed. The Twi'lek tried to get as far away as possible. 

"Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." The Zabrak continued placing a gentle hand on the Twi'lek's shoulder. 

He had stopped crying, but he still trembled. Maul wondered if it was still for fear or if the tremor was due to some damage brought to his nerves. 

"What's your name?" Asked Maul. He reached out and opened the handcuffs with the Force. 

"S-sath-thego..." He said in a choked voice. Maul slipped a hand under the skeletal back of Sathego, lifting him gently from the bed and putting him in an upright position. 

The Twi'lek's head fell forward, but Maul took it gently and placed it on his shoulder. "Nice to meet you, Sathego. I'm Reddie." Maul said as he slid another hand under the Twi'lek's legs. 

"R-Reddie...?" He asked, the man's green eyes were distant. 

"Yes. I am part of the rebellion." Continued the Zabrak exiting the cell. Sathego instantly closed his aching eyes when he saw the light outside. Dazzling. 

"Rebel-lion..." Sathego looked up in disbelief. He no longer hoped for it. He thought he would die in that cell and instead... 

"We received your message, you're safe now, I will not let them touch you again." The Zabrak reassured him. Still Sathego looked at him in disbelief. He cried silently in Maul's arms, who in the meantime made his way through the corridors of the ship, heading for the hangar. 

Reddie's comunic rang, he turned it on and Kanan's voice called to him. "We are finished, where are you?" 

"I'm heading to the hangar, and I have an injured with me." Maul replied, accelerating his pace, seeing that Sathego was beginning to lose consciousness. 

"Who is it?" 

"The Twi'lek." 

"You found him?" Rex asked in disbelief. They were running too. Maul had guessed it from the breathless tone of the clone. 

"Yes. Do you have information on Ivisiron instead?" Replied return Maul. 

The communic remained silent for a few seconds. Then Kanan answered. "Change of plans. We destroyed the searches and sabotaged the cloaking system, and now they can not use it anymore." 

"Hmm... Contact Hera and tell her to be ready." Said Maul. "See you at the launch hangar. Out. " Maul gave no time to the Jedi and the clone to speak, he just hung up and accelerated again. 

A group of soldiers was heading towards him. Armed with blaster. He was armed too, but he couldn't afford to waste time. The conditions of Sathego were serious. He stretched out three fingers and, with an unstoppable rage, strangled all the soldiers, who fell dead on the ground. They had to pay for torturing another living being that way. 

Maul couldn't stand that. Even his Master reserved this type of treatment for him. And the memories hurt the Zabrak. 

Maul finally arrived at the hangar. He saw Kanan, Rex and Chopper getting on one of the bigger ships. He followed them without thinking twice and deposited Sathego on a seat. Meanwhile, the Star Destroyer was on alert. Imperial soldiers appeared from all sides. 

Kanan had turned on the engines and fired at the soldiers and then quickly left the Star Destroyer. 

Other fighters began to follow them, but Hera came to their rescue by shooting at the TIEs. 

"You missed me?" Hera's voice echoed in the shuttle. She seemed happy to see them all again, even in the middle of a battle. 

"We have to get out of here." Rex answered into the comunic. "Chopper, start the docking cycle." Kanan ordered. The droid obeyed and soon the shuttle docked to the Phantom that entered iperspace, heading for Yavin 4. 

"Uhf, that was close." Sighed Rex, sitting next to Maul. The Zabrak was caressing the Twi'lek, he had a high fever. 

"How is he?" Kanan approached them. Meanwhile Zeb had opened the door from which Sabine and Ezra entered the shuttle. 

"That's the Twi'lek of the recording..." Ezra stopped. The Twi'lek was in a really bad way. 

"Yes. He needs medical treatment, now." Said Maul, taking him back in his arms and heading for his room. He placed Sathego on his bed. Moon climbed up and curled up next to the newcomer. Evidently he understood the situation and started purring to comfort the wounded Twi'lek. 

"We'll get to Yavin soon, but there might be a chance that-" Kanan had started talking but Maul interrupted him. 

"Don't you dare finish it, he will make it." Maul said, sitting on the ground near the bed. He was disgusted by what the empire had done. He stroked Moon, who meanwhile had fallen asleep near Sathego, hoping that he would hang on. Maul was not sure. And Kanan was right. But he  still had hope.


	4. Episode 3: Old Wounds

Everything had happened so fast. They ran into the Ghost, opened a window in iper-space and ran off. Maul didn't leave Sathego alone not even for a moment. That Twi'lek had been tortured. Maul couldn't even think about it. He was trembling with rage. But he knew that he couldn't snap here. He couldn't lose control. Now he was on the Ghost and for now Sathego was sleeping peacefully with Moon by his side.

That Loth cat was very cuddly. He was curled up near Sathego's face and purring. Sometimes the hairy tail made of small jerks, but nothing more. Moon remained quiet near the Twi'lek. If his master had put him in his bed then he could trust the Twi'lek.

Maul lowered his head and placed it on the mattress. Closed eyes. His head hurt. He just wanted Hera to hurry up and get to Yavin 4. Sathego needed medical care. Meanwhile Moon had approached him, trying to comfort his master. Maul really loved that cat.

Maul wasn't aware that he had fallen asleep, but he was awakened by Sabine. The girl was shaking him by the arm. "Hey. Come on big guy, wake up."

Maul opened his eyes and found himself in front of the girl's rainbow hair. "What...?"

"We've arrived." Silence. Maul looked really tired, so Sabine continues. "On Yavin 4..."

"We've arrived? Oh, okay... yes." Maul turned to the bed, but found it empty. His brain began to panic and began to think the cause the death of the Twi'lek with light green skin.

Moon approached him, licking and rubbing his nose on his hand. Maul returned for a moment, managing to ask. "Sathego... He's...?" He wasn't able to finish the sentence.

Sabine immediately understood what he was asking and immediately answered. "What? No! No! Ehm... Kanan and a group of healers immediately took him away. He was still alive when we arrived and Hera immediately allerted the doctors." Sabine as always was efficient in the answers. So if she didn't tell him Sathego's real condition then it was because the doctors were still visiting the Twi'lek.

He let out a sigh "All right." The Zabrak said and stood up. Moon gave one last affectionate stroke to his master's hand, then stretched meowing. He jumped off the bed and headed for the door, disappearing a moment later.

"Where are you going?" Sabine asked. Maul was also heading for the door. But Sabine knew something was wrong. The posture, the way of walking, even the expression on the Zabrak's face. Something was off.

"Out." Maul said without giving her a glance. He had almost growled at her. He'd never done that. If there was someone with whom the former Sith Darth Maul seemed to get along, it was Sabine.

The girl was left in the ship while the Zabrak came out of the Phantom. It was late outside. The sun had set and the only lights came from the interior lighting of the other parked ships and the laboratories together with the main station of the rebel base.

Maul tried to calm himself in every way. But what had happened had reminded him of... the past.

That Twi'lek reminded him of Zero. He didn't know why. Zero was fantastic, sarcastic and incredibly smart. Sathego had instead was broken and barely breathing at the moment.

Maul didn't know why he was reminded of Zero, or Cog Hive Seven. But it was happening. All of a sudden the torture he had suffered there re-emerged in his mind. Zero had saved him from certain death by drowning. But then he had been killed by a man named Bakari. 

The water. Maul was too scared. The thought alone brought him back to those dark times where his Master had forced him to go to Cog Hive Seven. Zero had been his only lifeline. But then he too had been taken away from him. Only pain existed in Maul's life.

Without noticing Maul had clenched his fists. Electric shocks began to form on his arms. He managed to wake up only after a voice. No. A scream. His brain hadn't registered what it was around him. As that human technician approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. But that action had triggered panic in Zabrak.

Maul had awakened from a nightmare. He was sweaty. He could feel the drops of sweat dripping on his temples. He raised a trembling hand, other small bursts of lightning were generated. Maul clenched his fist trying to control himself. Check his emotions. But those years in prison had reached him and now with interest. Here's what made him similar to Sathego. Both were wounded.

Maul looked up. Ezra had approached him. He had the green lightsaber activated. In front of him. Kanan not far from the padawan, but he hadn't activated his sword. Behind them all the other components of the rebel faction.

"Maul..." It was Ezra who spoke. Slowly Maul laid eyes on the boy. He had lowered his still lit sword with one hand and gesticulated in front of him with the other. Maul looked around again. Rex had the blaster in his hand and pointed it towards him. The others did the same.

"Maul." Kanan had approached. "Lower the lightsaber." Said the Jedi taking his saber in his hand.

"What?" He whispered. Then the Zabrak looked down. He had the dark lightsaber activated and pointed it exactly at the technician he had hit a short time ago. The black blade only a few inches away from the man's neck. When did he take his sword? Maul didn't remember.

Maul's gaze passed from the sword, to the terrified eyes of the technician. Then they settled on another person. Sabine also aimed with her two blasters.

"Drop the weapon Maul." Sabine ordered him.

In the meantime Maul could hear what was happening around him.

"I knew it." A red-haired woman broke into the crowd that had gathered around them.

"We shouldn't have trusted a former Imperial." Another had answered in return.

"He planned to sold us out from the beginning." Maul knew that voice belonged to Zeb. But it wasn't true! He didn't want to do that... he hated the Empire for what was done to him.

"He will kill us all." Xyrusa had talked now.

What? No! Or maybe yes? He was wounded after all. It took little to break him completely. If he continued he could kill them all. He was perfectly capable of it. After all he had been trained for this. The goal of his Master was to make him a kill machine. And unfortunately he had succeeded... and perfectly well.

"I don't think so. We'll kill him first." A Rodian had a blaster in his hand.

"No, wait!" Kanan had shouted. In a second the Rodian had taken aim and fired at Maul. The Zabrak had lowered himself immediately to prevent the bullet from hitting him between his eyes.

Of course, Maul could have reflected the blaster blow and sent it straight into the eyes of his attacker. But he didn't do it. He didn't want to create more damage. Also because he knew something was wrong. Whatever had happened before was returning. Maul knew it. He had to settle this matter first of all.

"Maul."

"Sabine! Get away from him!" Ezra screaming. The girl shook her head and approached the Zabrak, placing the blasters on the ground. Slowly she took the Zabrak's hand and took the sword throwing it behind her. She knew that Kanan or Ezra would immediately recover it with the Force or something.

"Something's wrong. It's coming back..." Maul whispered. His hands had begun to tremble again.

"What are you talking about?" Sabine was confused, but continued to look him in the eye, trying to make him understand that she trusted him. That she wouldn't run away from him.

"Oh God..." Kanan understood.

"What is it?" Ezra asked, approaching his Master to hear what he was saying.

"Ezra, put away the sword."

"I already did." Ezra said, making a sign behind him where he had thrown the dark lightsaber at Rex. The clone had taken it and put it on his belt. Even Rex, however, understood what all that mess was... many clones suffered of it during the clone wars. The clone slowly began to approach.

"I mean yours." Kanan said trying to keep his voice calm and low.

"What?! And why on Earth would-"

"Maul suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Rex interrupted him. Maul had all the symptoms of the disorder. Confusion. He didn't recognize those in front of him. Sudden mood swings. Sweating. Plus, Rex was quite convinced that they had just witnessed a flashback.

"Yeah. I think so too. And it's not the first time either." Kanan had come closer to Maul.

The Zabrak had begun to tremble again. Suddenly he lifted a hand from which a powerful Force Push came. All those present were thrown against the wall of the neighboring building. Then, without wasting any more time, Maul Force called his lightsaber to him and started running, sending Sabine to the ground with a shove of his shoulder.

Rex got up immediately. He knew what he had to do. And he had to do it fast. Who knows what Maul was seeing at the time. He had to stop him from hurting someone or himself as quickly as possible.

Rex, Kanan and a team that recently arrived to the place by order of Senator Organa. "Blaster set on stunning." He growled. All complied without discussing and started following the Zabrak.

Maul ran. He no longer knew what was real and what was the result of his mind. First he was with Zero in the prison, then Ezra in front of him with his sword activated. The Zabrak didn't understand. There were voices behind him. They ordered him to stop. But he didn't want to listen. He had almost killed a man. He had to control himself. He was powerful. But without control, power is nothing.

He ran as fast as he could. He put his hand on his belt, but couldn't find his sword. Quite right. He had given it to Sabine a little while ago. Or that was Bakari? Maul couldn't understand anything anymore.

He entered the nearest laboratory he could find. The one of communications. "Everybody, out of here!" He growled. Some of the technicians ran out at the exact moment he had spoken. Others were hesitating instead. Without thinking twice, Maul threw them out with the Force and barricaded himself inside.

He was dangerous. They had to stay away from him. If he lost control he was able to kill them all and he didn't want this. He had finally managed to find someone who was fighting for his same reasons. Make the empire pay for all the abuse and injustice it had caused.

Fists pounded against the entrance to the laboratory "Maul! Open the door!" It was Rex, Maul recognized the clone's voice. They were here. They knew he was a threat, he had to escape. But he didn't want to hurt anyone.

He had to find a way to steal a ship and sneak away. Of course, he could take the Phantom, even though he knew that Hera wouldn't be happy about it. Or he could take the Ghost... It was moments like this that Maul wished he had his beloved Scimitar with him. He had seemed to hear Bane long ago that he knew where to find her. Apparently Sidious had kept the ship but replaced his apprentice. Not that bad. Maul was fine with it. "Open up!" Kanan now. Maul had begun to hit every single instrument he could find. Without even noticing. At the moment he was destroying a chair.

Maul heard the sound of activation of a lightsaber, then the smell of burned metal invaded the air. Kanan had started cutting the door open. Maul registered what was happening but couldn't calm down. He still thought of Sidious, of Zero. One of his few friends before death claimed him too. 

Maul activated the dark saber. He didn't care anymore. He just had to protect himself. He wanted to escape. The door opened and then everything became a blurr. Laser bullets began to fly against him. Maul reflected them all to the sender. Kanan and Ezra shouted something. Maul could not understand that, but then he saw the clones and the other soldiers walking away from the door. 

Maul growled and started walking towards the Jedi. Ezra and Kanan threw him back with a powerful Force push before he could get close. Maul flew straight against the wall. Ezra and Kanan didn't want to face him. The jedi had decided to use the Force and simply hope to make him tired in an attempt to free himself. 

A lightning strike struck the two Jedi. Ezra collapsed immediately. It hurt. He couldn't even move a muscle. Kazan too was not having an easy life. Maul had taken him by surprise, but he had had time to parry the lightning shock with his lightsaber. 

In the meanwhile they had released him from the Force grip. Maul stood up. The darksaber fisted in one hand, with the other he threw Force lightning towards the Jedi. Kanan managed to move with a half pirouette, activated his lightsaber and launched himself to the Zabrak. Maul lazily raised his darksaber, parrying every blow or lunge that the Jedi sent him. It almost felt like he was playing with Kanan. 

Ezra got up, his legs were shaking, the Zabrak's Force lightning was powerful. The arm with which he had tried to protect himself was burned. Ezra mentally cursed the Zabrak. He try to get closer to the battle, but Kazan stopped him. "Ezra, do not approach! Stay away!" 

"What?! I can help you, Kanan!" Ezra gripped his lightsaber with one hand, while with the other he signaled Sabine to approach. 

"We do not have to kill him, he's not him right now, I can feel it." Kanan jumped sideways, dodging a slash aimed directly at his chest. He raised his hand and, with a Force push, he sent Maul flying against the machinery around them. 

Sabine had heard the conversation. He positioned himself in a strategic point, where she couldn't be hit by the swords and where she had a perfect aim and aimed the blaster, set on stunning. 

Kanan saw her out of the corner of his eye as he dodged another blow with a  Force jump. He landed behind the Zabrak and with a trip made him lose his balance. Maul fell to the ground, the dark lightsaber slipped from his hand and landed next to Sabine. The girl took the sword and threw it at Ezra, then taking advantage of the fact that Kanan had blocked the Zabrak on the ground fired at the two. Kanan got up just in time, Maul was hit and fell to the floor unconscious.

~xXx~

Headaches , he hated them, and this was particularly strong. The pain intensified even more when he opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him was not the dark ceiling of his quarters as seen, but rather the nurse of Yavin. He frowned and sat down, looking around and finding Kanan standing, arms crossed, at the end of the bed. "Kanan". he whispered and found that talking hurt his throat. "What happened?" 

"How much do you remember about last night?" he asked the Zabrak. 

Maul pushed himself on and did not notice his apparent lack of clothing. He just wore his pants. "I remember waking up in my quarters." He looked at the human. "Sathego was not there and I went out to look for him." 

Kanan swallowed. "Do you remember something else?" 

Maul shook his head. "I do not know," a certain amount of fear began to creep into his spine when he recorded the hard set of Kanan's face and features. "Why, what did I do?" 

Kanan sighed. "Oh, you terrified the whole field, completely parceled out, you tried to kill Ezra twice." Zabrak was not really angry about this.

"Kanan -" The Jedi made a noise in the back of his throat that interrupted Maul before he searched. "Do not worry, in fact I would like to propose something, how about if we meditate together sometimes?" 

Maul tilts his head as a sign of respect for Kanan and the human nodded once before turning around and leaving. Kix came to him. "I just have to make sure everything is fine and then you can go." I tell him, reading a needle for a blood test. Maul had not really heard it. All that is once yesterday's flashback can not be left overwhelmed for so little. 

Maul growled, Kix finished the exams quickly and released him. Maul headed for the room where Sathego rested. Twi'lek opened the door, a defeated look on his face. The green eyes were watery and plump. He had cried. "Can I come in?" 

Zabrak does not know what to say. He knew something was wrong, it was quite hard in Sathego's eyes, but he did not dare ask. 

Sathego nodded and Maul entered the room. It was spacious. Simply this. Sathego had not personalized it in any way. On the desk, which has a sliding window as wide as a free wall, is a stand-by pad and a cup of tea. 

Sathego slowly touched his arm, withdrew it and headed for the desk. Maul followed him without saying a word. The Twi'lek handed him the tablet. There was a file, the only file. He opened it. 

A deafening silence fell into the room. Maul looked at the pad for a few moments. He put it on the table and looked at Sathego. Twi'lek had told him about them. Of his wife and daughter. He loved them, so much and Maul understood that. Dead. He had loved his brother too. And when he was dead, a part of Maul had died with him. Twi'lek's cheeks were streaked with the tears of his silent tears. Maul reached out and squeezed his shoulder. You do not know what to do or what to say. For the time being he would have been expected with Sathego to give him comfort. But to be honest, Maul does not know if he could give that comfort. But he tried it anyway.


End file.
